Private Renting - Harassment and Illegal Eviction

It is illegal for a landlord to harass a contract-holder (tenant) or force them from their home without following the correct legal process. 

What is harassment?

It is an offence for landlords or their agents to:

• Interfere with the peace and comfort of their contract-holders
• Withdraw necessary services from people living in the accommodation (necessary services include water, gas and electricity, or lifts in a block of flats)
• Act in a way that they know or have reasonable cause to believe that these actions are likely to cause the contract-holder to leave their home or refrain from exercising their rights

For advice, please contact the Housing Standards and Environmental Protection Team on public.health@torfaen.gov.uk

What is illegal eviction?

Illegal eviction occurs when a residential occupier is unlawfully deprived of either all or part of their accommodation.

Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, landlords cannot evict contract-holders who ask for repairs or complain about dangerous housing conditions.

Landlords and lettings agents must follow the correct process to evict contract-holders.  It is illegal when a landlord does not follow the right procedure.

It does not matter if the contract-holder is in breach of their contract e.g. they owe rent, or won’t allow the landlord to do repairs, or the fixed term has come to an end.

Common examples of unlawful eviction are:

• Being locked out of a property/room
• Being deprived of a room that is normally shared with other people e.g. kitchen or living room
• Having part of the home taken away because of building works
• Being turned out of your own home

Visit the Shelter Cymru website for more information.

Report a problem with harassment or being threatened with illegal eviction by your landlord